Blues Jr. III or Blues Jr. NOS

**guz** · 06-09-2014, 09:53 PM

Friends,
I'm traveling to the US and I want to buy a small valve amp.
After searching a little bit, I thought about the Fender Blues Jr., that looks to have a honest sound and it`s easy to bring to Brazil.
But I saw that there are two types of this amp, one with Eminence speaker (BJrIII) and the other with Jensen speaker (BJr NOS).
Which one do you think that has a better clean sound for jazz?
Thank you!

**Cooperro** · 06-10-2014, 06:16 AM

I own the Blues Jr. III and a few other amps. It is the brightest amp I own, and would never consider it my jazz amp. It has some kind of "sparkle" upgrade that Fender did to it, and sparkle it does. There's no switch to turn it off - it's built into the circuit. It's got that Fender sound in spades - I have to turn the treble all the way off even with my L5's dark woody timbre. There's a "fat" switch on it, but that label's a bit misleading. It doesn't fatten the sound like you'd think. It's more an input gain thing, like stepping on a boost pedal for soloing.

I just love this amp for everything except jazz. But, if you want to cut through and be heard on stage, this amp will do it for sure. But for traditional jazz, and especially chord melody solo playing, I go to my Cube 80XL.

**Chimera1to1** · 06-10-2014, 01:32 PM

Hi Guz,

A few years ago I was probably asking similar questions, the black/white good/bad categorisation of guitars and amps. There are so many variables of guitar, pickups, plectrums, finger and thumbs and personal preferences that it is impossible for anyone to say which would be better for you. Unless you took your guitar to the US and played both amps side by side then even playing through the amps with a similar guitar to your own is an educated guess.

I have a Blues Jnr lll and have no problem dialling in a pleasing jazz tone. It does Fender cleans well enough for me. I don't find myself thinking, "If only I had bought the NOS version."

Whichever you decide is better will be splitting hairs.

The BJ lll is likely more widely available so you are more likely to get a good price. I also think there is merit, as a player, of taking a standard guitar and a standard amp and making it work for you. Chasing speakers, pickups etc is like chasing shadows. I certainly wish I had spent less time and money on constantly "upgrading" gear and more on learning the music

**Chimera1to1** · 06-10-2014, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by Chimera1to1

Hi Guz,

A few years ago I was probably asking similar questions, the black/white good/bad categorisation of guitars and amps. There are so many variables of guitar, pickups, plectrums, finger and thumbs and personal preferences that it is impossible for anyone to say which would be better for you. Unless you took your guitar to the US and played both amps side by side then even playing through the amps with a similar guitar to your own is an educated guess.

I have a Blues Jnr lll and have no problem dialling in a pleasing jazz tone. It does Fender cleans well enough for me. I don't find myself thinking, "If only I had bought the NOS version."

Whichever you decide is better will be splitting hairs.

The BJ lll is likely more widely available so you are more likely to get a good price. I also think there is merit, as a player, of taking a standard guitar and a standard amp and making it work for you. Chasing speakers, pickups etc is like chasing shadows. I certainly wish I had spent less time and money on constantly "upgrading" gear and more on learning the music

I think I must be getting old. And grumpy��

**Cooperro** · 06-10-2014, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by Chimera1to1

Hi Guz,

A few years ago I was probably asking similar questions, the black/white good/bad categorisation of guitars and amps. There are so many variables of guitar, pickups, plectrums, finger and thumbs and personal preferences that it is impossible for anyone to say which would be better for you. Unless you took your guitar to the US and played both amps side by side then even playing through the amps with a similar guitar to your own is an educated guess.

I have a Blues Jnr lll and have no problem dialling in a pleasing jazz tone. It does Fender cleans well enough for me. I don't find myself thinking, "If only I had bought the NOS version."

Whichever you decide is better will be splitting hairs.

The BJ lll is likely more widely available so you are more likely to get a good price. I also think there is merit, as a player, of taking a standard guitar and a standard amp and making it work for you. Chasing speakers, pickups etc is like chasing shadows. I certainly wish I had spent less time and money on constantly "upgrading" gear and more on learning the music

I agree with Chimera. He likes his Jr. III for jazz tones, and I don't think mine does the trick. You gotta play your guitar through one and decide for yourself. Other than that, you're relying on other players opinions. So far, you have two responses, and two differing opinions. I fear that's how it's going to go...

If its strictly old school jazz tones you're after, you might go with tried and true: Henricksen, Polytone, Roland, etc. Aside from those three and a few other tried and true amps, you're basically at the mercy of varying opinions, including mine.

Good luck with your search. If possible, you gotta go try them yourself.

**guz** · 06-10-2014, 02:15 PM

Thank you guys! I think that you are true!
There aren't strict rules for the best guitar or amp... everything is due to your taste and way of playing.
I'll try for myself these amps and decide for one of them, or no one...
Anyway, I have to buy a better amp. I have a roland ac60 and a roland microcube, but I think that none of them is helping me to make the sound I want from my epiphone joe pass or from my les paul studio.
In my case, I look for a small amp (easy to bring to Brazil by plane), mainly to play jazz and brazilian music, but I like to play blues or rock sometimes.
So, if you have any tip that may help me, I'll appreciate a lot!

**Chimera1to1** · 06-10-2014, 02:34 PM

Hey Guz,

Are you looking to buy in the US just because of price or is availability an issue too?

**guz** · 06-10-2014, 03:25 PM

Hi Chimera1to1,

The main reason to buy this amp in the US is the price.
We have good amps here in Brazil, but their price is more than the double when compared to the gear sold in the US stores...
So, that's why I want to catch the oportunity to buy a good (but not big!) amp during my stay.

**nosoyninja** · 06-10-2014, 04:01 PM

I am very happy with my fender superchamp X2. Clean all the way up, and also has models for all levels of distortion, from gritty, to hard rock, to raging metal mad...

**Chimera1to1** · 06-10-2014, 04:57 PM

Originally Posted by nosoyninja

I am very happy with my fender superchamp X2. Clean all the way up, and also has models for all levels of distortion, from gritty, to hard rock, to raging metal mad...

Yeah that's a good idea. The last on the dial is a model of the Jazz-King. Great suggestion.

I asked about availability just to check on the thorny issue of an amp tech but it sounds like you have that covered.

I guess if its about getting a good deal then stick with the US brands. The superchamp comes as a little head unit too, might be handy. There's the Mustang series of modellers too. They got good reviews.

**nosoyninja** · 06-10-2014, 06:57 PM

I think the previous model XD is the one that had a specific "Jazz king" amp model. The newer X2 has a "jazzmaster ultralight" model instead. But it's basically a flat frequency response model. Keep in mind that most of the configuration for this amp must be done on a computer. You can later save it and take it to gigs without needing the computer, though. Also, the 10" combo is a perfect size for carry-on luggage. I think the mustang III with the 12" speaker is a bit too large and would probably have to be sent underneath. AND, the mustang line is solid state, no tubes, like the superchamp or the blues junior.

K

**guz** · 06-11-2014, 07:52 AM

I saw some reviews about the fender superchamp and it really looks to be a good amp! Nice tone and versatile. Now, I think it's my first option, but I will try it before I buy... Thanks!

**Chimera1to1** · 06-11-2014, 08:50 AM

Hey Nosoyninja you're absolutely right. I usually run behind "current". I'm the same with threads usually.

One thing going for the Blues Jnr III is that it takes overdrive and distortion pedals brilliantly. Bad Monkey into Blues Driver into BJIII with a strat with S1 switching is sonic mayhem!!! Sorry! Wrong Forum!!

**Greentone** · 06-11-2014, 03:31 PM

The best small tube amp that Fender makes is the Pro Jr...or, at least, recently made. I have two Blues Jrs and an early Pro Jr. In terms of tone--at any volume--the Pro Jr sounds better than either Blues Jr, IMO. This is regarding any music form you want to consider, too--jazz, blues, rock, country. The Pro Jr, unbelievably overlooked, is a real sleeper. The 10" speaker sounds better than the 12" speaker--especially if you find one with the blue-frame Eminence. The volume knob on the Pro Jr is mislabeled--it should read from "Good" to "Better."

**coolvinny** · 06-11-2014, 04:33 PM

I'd have to agree that the the Pro Jr. is a great little amp. I never much liked the Blues Jr. and I think for a jazz amp there are better options than it. Even if it's not your Number 1 amp down the road, the Pro Jr. could be the very portable amp you need occasionally when you don't want to lug something bigger around..

**D.G.** · 06-11-2014, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by Greentone

The best small tube amp that Fender makes is the Pro Jr...or, at least, recently made. I have two Blues Jrs and an early Pro Jr. In terms of tone--at any volume--the Pro Jr sounds better than either Blues Jr, IMO. This is regarding any music form you want to consider, too--jazz, blues, rock, country. The Pro Jr, unbelievably overlooked, is a real sleeper. The 10" speaker sounds better than the 12" speaker--especially if you find one with the blue-frame Eminence. The volume knob on the Pro Jr is mislabeled--it should read from "Good" to "Better."

Pro Jr has become my goto gig amp these days. It does seem to be tube sensitive, so I replaced both preamp tubes with a set of NOS tubes I happen to have lying around: a JAN 5751 in V1 and a JAN 12AU7 in v2. Replacing V2 really quieted down the hiss of the amp to a level on slightly more than my PRRI. Using a pair of much lower gain tubes also reduced the amount of overall distortion the amp creates, but I'm only interested in a bit of breakup, no full on distortion.

I also put in a Jensen C10R 25watt speaker. It's my favorite speaker, though might be too bright for some tastes.